4-H Camp: A Year-Round Operation

“Summer camp is only three months of the year. What do you do during the other nine months of the year?”

That’s a great question! While 4-H camp may only be during a few months of the summer, we keep busy year-round with planning, preparations, and programming.

Budgeting

Our annual auxiliary budget planning cycle is January through March each year. Each 4-H Center has its own individual budget they are responsible for. Budgets range from a few hundred thousand dollars to almost a million dollars in operating costs. Budgets are planned at the camp level, then at the state office level, then reviewed by the College Budget Office and then the University Budget Office. This is a couple month process.

Facilities Improvements

We are inspected annually by the Office of the State Fire Marshal and receive written fire and safety inspection reports, which we must address and resolve safety issues. We complete hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs and renovations across our camps through a prioritized basis. During the winter months, we winterize our buildings and facilities and don’t schedule any events or programs during the holidays.

Fundraising

In order to provide camperships to youth with limited resources to attend a week of camp, we plan and host a variety of annual signature fundraising events, including:

On the Dock of the Bay at Eastern 4-H Center – 1st Saturday in May

Pickin’ in the Pines at Millstone 4-H Camp – 3rd Saturday in October

Marketing

A good portion of our off-season is to spend marketing our summer camps to increase summer camp enrollment. We lead a variety of marketing efforts including:

February – Carolina Parent Camp Fair in the Triangle and Wilmington Camp Fair at Mayfaire Town Center

March – Dixie Deer Classic at NC State Fairgrounds

Open Houses

We host open houses at each of our three 4-H Centers for the general public. Our Open Houses for 2019 are scheduled for:

Eastern 4-H Center – Saturday, April 13, from 10 a.m.–2 p.m.

Betsy-Jeff Penn 4-H Educational Center – Sunday, May 5, from 2–6 p.m.

Millstone 4-H Camp – Saturday, May 11, from 2–4:30 p.m.

Professional Development

Our camp team attends a variety of district, state, regional, and national conferences. American Camp Association (ACA) conferences include the ACA Southeastern Camp Conference in the fall, Camps on Campus meetings, and the National Camp Conference in February. We also attend the North Carolina Youth Camp Association (NCYCA) fall meeting in September, winter meeting in January, and spring meeting in May.

Staff Recruitment, Hiring, and Training

We post-summer camp counselor and instructor positions on the university’s job postings website in January/February. We attend summer camp employment recruitment fairs at several UNC institutions. We conduct phone and in-person interviews in March and April and make hiring decisions and job offers. We conduct thorough reference checks and background checks on every hire. We conduct 10-12 days of summer camp staff training, including:

First Aid, CPR, and AED certification training

Lifeguard certification training

Risk management and safety

Behavior management

Child abuse prevention, recognition, and mandated reporting training

Ages and Stages of child development

Skill-specific activity training:

Archery

Boating (canoeing/kayaking)

Challenge Course

Climbing Wall

Combined Camp Staff Training

Strategic Planning

We host a semi-annual staff retreat where we:

Conduct necessary and required university training

Conduct cost analyses of our expense and fees

Participate in team building activities

Year-Round Programming

During the school year, we host a variety of conferences, events, programs, retreats, and workshops. We serve thousands of youth during the school year and even more adults on the weekends.

Conclusion

While you may just be starting to think about making plans for your child this summer, know that we plan and prepare year-round to make 4-H camp the best week of the summer for your child!

About Extension

NC State Extension is the largest outreach program at NC State University.
Based in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, we reach millions of
North Carolina citizens each year through local centers in the state's 100 counties
and with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
Learn More

Social Media Accounts

Let's Stay In Touch email

We have several topic based e-mail newsletters that are sent out periodically when we have new information to share. Want to see which lists are available? Subscribe By Emailchevron_right

About North Carolina 4-H

What is 4-H?

4-H is a fun program where you get to “Learn by Doing.” With more than 10,000 established 4-H programs across North Carolina, you can be a part of 4-H wherever you live. All youth between the ages of 5 and 19 are invited to join! In 4-H you can go to camp, start a business, ride in a bike rodeo, take part in an international exchange, raise an animal, create a blog, give a presentation, participate in a community service project, develop your resume, practice interview skills, learn about healthy eating habits, build lifelong friendships.

Best of all, membership is FREE! 4-H costs nothing to join, and you are not required to purchase a uniform. Member expenses are minimal and determined by the club itself. Check out more about how to Get involved in NC 4-H.

NC State University and N.C. A&T State University work in tandem, along with federal, state and local governments, to form a strategic partnership called N.C. Cooperative Extension, which staffs local offices in all 100 counties and with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.